


We Always Find a Way to Make It Out Alive

by panotaku95



Series: Klance Positivity Month 2017 [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT???, EVEN I DON'T KNOW!, Klance Positivity Month 2017, honestly plan on having more than one chapter, not too much angst but a little bit to keep it interesting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-15 07:19:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11226048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panotaku95/pseuds/panotaku95
Summary: Lance ends up in a sticky situation and it's up to Keith to get him out of it. But will the introduction of a new foe end up being too much for the red paladin?Week Three Theme: Free Week





	1. You'll Have to Go Through Me

**Author's Note:**

> Tchukenya is pronounced "Cha-Kenya"

"Paladins! Get to your lions immediately! We're picking up a distress signal from a planet nearby!" Allura's voice echoes through the halls of the castle. Everyone bolts to their respective hangars, changing into their uniforms before taking the annoyingly long trip to their lions. The lions exit the castle and soon they are on their way towards Tchukenya, a small planet, shimmering yellow and splattered with burnt orange. As the paladins enter the planet's atmosphere, their vision becomes compromised by a thick, grey fog. They can't even see five feet in front of them, let alone see the planet's surface or each other. Just like in their blindfolded trust exercise all those months ago, the paladins brace themselves for an inevitable impact. Just as it seems that a crash is a breath away, the fog clears and they are able to see the chaos that is ensuing down below. There are ten Galra battle ships hovering over a huge fortress that is settled in the center of a quaint village. The houses are all nestled on top of each other, made of a wood-type material. They can see extensive damage already; houses upon houses were smashed in, the fortress showing some holes where the Galra's ion cannons had shot. Immediately Shiro commands the team to get to work. 

 

"Hunk, Lance. Go down to the surface and get as many of the Tchukenyans to safety as you can. There aren't a lot of good places to hide but the fortress seems to be holding up decently and it's certainly big enough for all the citizens." 

 

"Aye, aye Captain," Lance answers as Hunk calls out, "Got it!" 

 

"Keith, Pidge, and I will fight off these Galra ships in the mean time, so be on the look out. This shouldn't be too difficult for us, team, so let's hope we don't need to form Voltron!" 

 

"Let's do this!" Keith growls out, Pidge nodding their head in agreement, forgetting that no one could see their movement. 

 

The battle doesn't last long at all, considering Coran and Allura are assisting in eliminating the Galra fleet from up above. Meanwhile, Hunk and Lance are ushering the Tchukenyans inside the fortress. The aliens are a variety of different browns, reds, and yellows. They only come up to Lance's hip but they have long torsos, three fingers on each hand and six legs. Their eyes are huge, all four of them, and they are as black as the void of space. Lance would have giggled at their adorable appearance if this wasn't a crisis situation. Thankfully, in a matter of minutes the Galra ships are destroyed and Shiro is calling everybody to just outside the fog to reconvene before heading to the castle. Slowly but surely each lion head pops out of the dense cloud-pillows, slowing to a halt around their leader. It's only then that Hunk realizes that they seem to be missing a paladin. 

 

"Uh, guys...where's Lance?" he says calmly, though on the inside he's definitely freaking out. 

 

"Of fucking course," Keith spits out, followed by a long sigh. "Where did he run off to this time? Probably hitting on some alien babe or something, like he always is." 

 

"Come on, man, that's not fair. I'm actually serious here. He was just with me not even 5 minutes ago." 

 

"And I’m telling you it's probably nothing to be worried about. Just Lance being Lance." 

 

The princess cuts through the chatter, "Paladins, is there a problem down there? You seem to be taking an awfully long time to return...wait...where's the blue lion? Where is Lance?" 

 

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Pidge adds. They've been silently surveying the area for any traces of Blue's quintessence or her pilot, but nothing has come up. "It's like he just...disappeared." 

 

"Green's the only lion with cloaking on her, right? So he couldn't have just vanished," Keith says, his mild irritation ebbing into slight worry about the well-being of his scatterbrained teammate. He glances out of Red's window and tries to trace back their path to this spot. "Hunk!" he exclaims suddenly. 

 

"What is it?" the yellow paladin responds. Keith's face pops up on his dash, notifying him that this is a private conversation. 

 

"What were you and Lance doing right before you left Tchukenya?" He tries to mask his concern but he can't hide it, not from Hunk. 

 

"Well, we were on evac duty, making sure all of the Tchukenyans were out of the way of the fight overhead. We gathered all of them to the main fortress and stood guard until we got the okay from Shiro. Then we headed straight back here to the rendezvous point...or at least I did." 

 

Keith took a moment to let this sink in. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but his gut instinct was telling him that something was amiss. "Did anyone or anything look suspicious around the fortress?" 

 

"Not that I can remember, dude. But to be honest, I wasn't really paying much attention. I just wanted to get back to the castle, you know?" 

 

Just then the comms crackled in, heavy breathing the only other sound. Keith closes his private chat and calls out the black paladin. "Shiro, did you hear that?" 

 

"Yeah. I did. Let me handle this," he responds. His next words come out a little too quietly, his voice cracking as he says, "Hello...who's there?" 

 

"It's me...guys...It's Lance." The comms are still crackling but the voice of the blue paladin is easily recognizable. A wave of relief washes over the rest of the team. 

 

"Oh thank goodness you're alright," Shiro says. 

 

"No...you guys don't understand...I fucked up. I really fucked up." 

 

"What are you talking about? Where are you?" Keith asks. 

 

Through the comms the team can hear a shuffling sound, Lance's shaky breaths becoming quieter. Keith is the first one to realize that the blue paladin must have taken off his helmet. And in the next instant he realizes where it ended up. "He's with me," a husky but high-pitched voice rings out. "And if you want your precious Blue Paladin back, you'll have to go through me."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Muhahaha. A cliffhanger! But honestly, I have no idea what to write next and I need to focus on my one shot for the next week's prompt. Perhaps I'll revisit this one soon! Let me know if you'd like to read more!


	2. I Gave You That Name

"What is your goal here?" Shiro calls over the comms. His voice is hoarse and laced with worry. Why is it that Lance is always the one getting hurt or taken advantage of? It just doesn't seem fair to the blue paladin. Shiro's brotherly instincts kick into hyperdrive when he hears Lance's voice. He'll do anything for his team. They need to get him back.

The woman chuckles. "Obviously, Paladins of Voltron, I'm here for your lions. I was on a mission that went away. I'm the only one of my crew that is still alive. Surely you can understand the consequences of me returning to Zarkon empty handed. Yes?"

So she's Galra! Keith has had enough. He brings up a private call with Pidge, hoping the youngest paladin can help him track down Lance. He begins to ask as much when Pidge speaks up first. "Keith. I found Lance's location. I know how worried you are about him, you don't have to say it out loud. Just please...bring him back."

Keith feels his heart clench at Pidge's words. He knows how much the blue paladin means to her. "I will. I promise."

"Thank you."

Keith switches back to the open lines and hears the tail end of Shiro's conversation with the Galra as he leads Red down to the coordinates Pidge provided him. "You don't want to test me Paladins of Voltron. I will use force if I have to. And if I don't get what I asked within one of your Earth hours, I will kill the Blue Paladin. You have been warned." The line crackles out at this and the team is left in silence.

Keith lands back on the planet undetected as the woman finishes her threat. His pulse is way too fast and it's hard for him to breathe. Things escalted way to quickly for his liking and he desperately wants to see Lance again. Hopefully safe and sound. He climbs out of Red and starts toward the blue paladin's location, making sure to keep his feet as silent as possible while he runs. In the distance he sees Blue in a defensive position, particle barrier activated, but otherwise uncompromised. Good, the Galra wouldn't be able to breach her like that. All he has to do now is find Lance.

He takes a sharp left past Blue when he reaches her and finds a giant tree. How had he not noticed that before? Whatever, it doesn't matter. Except that it does, because underneath the tree, chained up against the trunk, is none other than the blue paladin. He looks rough, like he was beaten up pretty bad. Probably when the woman tried to tie him up. He smiles slightly knowing that Lance wouldn't have gone down without a fight.

Creeping up to the tree, he quietly tries to get Lance's attention. "Lance, hey, it's me." He gets no response. The blue paladin is as unmoving as his lion. Panic bubbles in Keith's stomach as he places his hand on Lance's pulse point, checking for any sign of life. Dear God he is a mess and he doesn't know what he'll do if Lance isn't okay. The weak beating beneath his caramel skin brings him relief. And he notices that Lance's shoulders are shaking slightly with small breaths. Keith moves his hand up to cup Lance's cheek, rubbing circles over his cheekbone. "Lance. Please wake up. We need to get you out of here."

At this, the blue paladin begins to stir. Groggily, he attempts to open his eyes and after several failed attempts he finally widens them enough to lock eyes with Keith. A pained smirk finds its way to his mouth and he whispers, "Thanks for coming. Now can you come and unchain me." He laughs slightly afterwards, letting it out with a cough.

Keith is taken aback for a second until he realizes that Lance is recalling their conversation after Nyma and Roll stole the blue lion. "Geez, Lance. Let's try not to make this a common occurrence."

Lance glances to the floor, all trace of laughter gone. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

Keith looks at him. What can he say? He wants to tell him that of course it's not his fault. That he wishes he could protect him better. That he'll give anything for him to be safe again. But instead all that comes out is, "What happened?"

Smooth, Keith.

Lance looks up to meet his gaze once more. "I don't know, man. It was like this invisible force was holding me down. I tried to fly up to meet up with everyone but Blue wouldn't budge. Then we were thrown down. And she showed up. I was on the ground in the cockpit and she picked me up by my throat and said that I was going to help her. That I was more than enough of a hostage to fulfill her plans." He looks back down to the ground. His brow creases and his eyes close. Keith ventures to say he's probably trying not to cry right now. "Is she stupid? I'm like the last person to be a good hostage. I'm easily replaceable. You shouldn't have come back for me." He locks eyes with Keith again, tears streaming down his face. "But I'm so glad that you did."

"We're gonna make it, okay. You're gonna be fine. Take my helmet, though. It'll give you some air and a way to communicate with the team. I'm gonna get you out of this." He retracts his hand from Lance's cheek and takes off his helmet, placing it on the blue paladin's head. Taking a step back, he activates his bayard and swings at the chains around the tree. As he's bringing his sword down for a second slice he hears Lance mutter ominously, "Keith...behind you."

Keith slowly turns over his shoulder to come face to face with the Galra woman. She's wearing a uniform that looks awfully familiar: a black and grey body suit with armor and accents of orange and blue here and there. Where had he seen it before?

Keith inhales sharply, the memory returning to him. "You are the Galra I saved in the Weeblum. Aren't you?"

The woman takes off her helmet and shakes her hair out. She has the characteristic yellow eyes, though hers are slanted slightly. Her hair is long and black, which is unique for a Galra. Her face has rough edges that remind him of Ulaz, yet with a softness he can't describe. What strikes him as strangest though is her mouth...she's smiling. "Keith. Is that you?"

The red paladin is frozen in place. He looks to Lance, still chained to the tree, and then back to the woman before him. He feels trapped, with no means of escape and a chill settling along his spine. He straightens up as much as he can, feining confidence he knows he doesn't have in this moment. Glaring at the woman before him he asks, "How do you know my name?"

Her smiles falls and her eyes lose their shine, if that even possible. She looks completely devastated for some reason. But then she smiles once more as she says, "That's because I was the one who gave you that name. Keith, I'm your mother."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy howdy. Sorry about another cliffhanger but I finally found enough inspiration to finish chapter two. Did any of you call who the mystery foe was? Cookies for you! Haha. There will probably only be one or two more chapters left. Stay tuned for more and thanks for reading!!!


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